ADELAIDE, Australia — Australia in January suits Jiri Lehecka. Last year, he reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
On Saturday, the seventh-seeded Czech beat unseeded Briton Jack Draper 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Adelaide International final to win his first ATP Tour title.
Sixth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko had a more comfortable push for victory as she secured her seventh WTA tour title with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Daria Kasatkina in a night match.
The 22-year-old Lehecka beat third-seeded Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals to reach his second tour final. Draper also was playing in his second final and his second in succession after losing to Adrian Mannarino in the final of the Sofia Open in November.
Saturday’s final was a contest of big hitters in which Lehecka served eight aces, Draper seven. That was indicative of a close match, which lasted 2 hours, 8 minutes.
“It’s hard for me to say something because it is so emotional for me to win my first title here in Adelaide,” Lehecka said. “I’m super excited.”
Lehecka is the first Czech to win an ATP title since Jiri Vesely in Pune in 2020. Saturday’s win will boost his ranking by nine places to 23.
Lehecka will play Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain in the first round of the Australian Open while Draper will play Marcos Giron of the United States.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko tuned up for the Australian Open with an impressive straight-set victory in 74 minutes against last year’s finalist Kasatkina.
Her first title on hardcourts since Dubai in 2002 marked her return to the top 10 for the first time in five years in what has been a perfect lead up week to the Australia Open starting Sunday.
The Latvian player powered 32 winners to Kasatkina’s 12 and made decisive breaks in each set which kept Kasatkina constantly on the back foot.
Kasatkina had advanced to the final after second-seeded Jessica Pegula withdrew with a gastrointestinal illness. It was the second consecutive walkover for Kasatkina, after Laura Siegemund withdrew ahead of their quarterfinal due to a left leg injury.
The 26-year-old Ostapenko is seeded No. 11 for the Australian Open in Melbourne and will play wild-card Kimberly Birrell in the first round. Ostapenko reached the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park last year.
Kasatkina is the 14th seeded player and will play No. 48 Peyton Stearns of the United States in the first round at the major.